The prior art is probably best disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,494, issued to me on Oct. 5, 1971. Although the strip steering roll assembly shown in this patent operated satisfactorily, its uses were limited because of the relatively large amount of space it required.
My improved guide roll apparatus is extremely compact and therefore may be located practically anywhere in a strip processing line. The compactness results from the fact that a pair of guide rolls may be positioned closely together without sacrificing accuracy in strip control.
Each of the rolls is mounted for tilting movement relative to the plane of the strip, with tilting of one roll in one direction causing a corresponding tilting of the other roll in the opposite direction. The rolls tilt in opposite directions about an axis which coincides with the centerline of the strip and the line. Any deviation of the position of the strip from the centerline of the line is detected by photo cells which send an imbalance signal, proportional to the amount of deviation, to an electro-hydraulic relay. This relay directs hydraulic power to one end of a hydraulic cylinder which causes the rolls to tilt in a direction which will create a guiding effect to return the traveling strip to the centerline of the line. With this arrangement, both rolls simultaneously guide the strip laterally in the same direction, thereby requiring minimal tilt angle to achieve the degree of guiding necessary. The minimal tilt angle results in minimum additional stress in the strip edges. My improved guide roll assembly is particularly suited for use in a continuous anneal and pickle line, although it will be understood that this is merely an example and not a limitation.